Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Landmarks of American History and Culture program supports series of one-week residence-based workshops for a national audience of K-12 educators. NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops use historic sites to address central themes and issues in American history, government, literature, art, music, and other related subjects in the humanities. The goals of the workshops are to increase knowledge and appreciation of subjects, ideas, and places significant to American history and culture through humanities reading and site study; build a community of inquiry and provide models of civility and of excellent scholarship and teaching; provide teachers with expertise in the use and interpretation of historical sites and of material and archival resources; and encourage historical and cultural sites to develop greater capacity and scale for professional development programs. NEH Landmarks Workshops are held at or near sites important to American history and culture (e.g., presidential residences or libraries; colonial-era settlements; major battlefields; historic districts; parks and preserves; sites of key economic, social, political, and constitutional developments; and places associated with major writers, artists, and musicians). Applicants should make a compelling case for the historical significance of the site(s), the material resources available for use, and the ways in which the site(s) will enhance the workshop. NEH Landmarks Workshops are academically rigorous and focus on key primary sources, documents, and scholarly works relevant to major themes of American history and culture. Leading scholars should serve as lecturers or seminar leaders. Workshops should also provide the opportunity to work with primary documents and develop classroom resources or a research project. Institutions or organizations that may host workshops include community colleges, universities, four-year colleges, learned societies, libraries or other repositories, centers for advanced study, cultural organizations, and professional associations. NEH expects host institutions to provide facilities conducive to scholarly research, discussion, and interaction. Host institutions should arrange suitable housing for participants, which participants pay for from the stipends provided to them as part of the Landmarks workshop grant.

The NEH Summer Seminars & Institutes grants support faculty development programs in the humanities for school teachers and for college and university teachers. NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes may be as short as two weeks or as long as five weeks. The duration of a program should allow for a rigorous treatment of its topic. NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes extend and deepen knowledge and understanding of the humanities by focusing on significant topics, texts, and issues; contribute to the intellectual vitality and professional development of participants; build a community of inquiry and provide models of civility and excellent scholarship and teaching; and promote effective links between teaching and research in the humanities. An NEH Summer Seminar or Institute may be hosted by a college, university, school system, learned society, center for advanced study, library or other repository, or a cultural or professional organization. The host site must be appropriate for the project, providing facilities for scholarship and collegial interaction. These programs are designed for a national audience of teachers.